Rory McIlroy delivered an exhibition of short iron play to shoot 7-under 65 in his third round and build a three-stroke lead at the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday and head into Monday’s final round on top of the leaderboard.
The top-ranked McIlroy made eight birdies at Emirates Golf Club — four in a row from No. 1, three straight from No. 13, and another at No. 17 — and none of the birdie putts were from more than 7 feet.
"I drove the ball better today, which put me in better positions to attack and make birdies," said the Northern Irishman, making his first start of 2023. "It's nearly there, not quite there, but I'm making the most of the good shots that I'm hitting and putting well. I'm just playing really efficient golf right now."
McIlroy did, though, give the chasers some hope by making bogey at the par-5 No. 18, for his only dropped shot of the round, after hitting a fairway wood from around 250 yards into the water in front of the green. After missing a par putt from 8 feet, McIlroy had a look of disappointment across his face as he walked off the green, despite holding a commanding lead.
The four-time major champion made the same mistake on the 18th hole in his final round in last year's tournament to finish a shot behind the leaders, when a birdie would have won him the title.
"I love this golf course, this tournament. I have won here a couple of times ... but I don't think I've won on my first start (of a year)," he said. "I've given myself an opportunity to try to do something I've never done before."
McIlroy was on 15 under overall, with English players Callum Shinkwin (67) and No. 484-ranked Dan Bradbury (68) tied for second place.
What TV channel is the Dubai Desert Classic on?
Rory McIlroy’s quest for another DP Tour title will be shown live on Sky Sports Golf and Main Event channels from 6am GMT.
What are the key tee times?
| 08:05 | 1 | 20 | BEKKER, Oliver | WU, Ashun | MACINTYRE, Robert |
| 08:15 | 1 | 21 | THORBJORNSEN, Michael | WIESBERGER, Bernd | DE JAGER, Louis |
| 08:25 | 1 | 22 | VEERMAN, Johannes | LARRAZÁBAL, Pablo | BJÖRK, Alexander |
| 08:35 | 1 | 23 | PIETERS, Thomas | KINHULT, Marcus | HERBERT, Lucas |
| 08:45 | 1 | 24 | WALLACE, Matt | BRUN, Julien | HILL, Calum |
| 08:55 | 1 | 25 | HARDING, Justin | FOX, Ryan | BLAND, Richard |
| 09:05 | 1 | 26 | ARNAUS, Adri | HIDALGO, Angel | POULTER, Ian |
| 09:15 | 1 | 27 | REED, Patrick | NORRIS, Shaun | PEREZ, Victor |
| 09:25 | 1 | 28 | BRADBURY, Dan | SHINKWIN, Callum | MCILROY, Rory |
Top of the leaderboard after round three
(Gbr & Irl unless stated, Par 72):
201 Rory McIlroy 66 70 65
204 Callum Shinkwin 71 66 67, Daniel Bradbury 73 63 68
205 Patrick Reed (USA) 66 70 69, Victor Perez (Fra) 67 72 66, Adria Arnaus (Spa) 67 68 70, Richard Bland 67 67 71, Shaun Norris (Rsa) 71 67 67, Ian Poulter 65 71 69, Angel Hidalgo (Spa) 66 70 69
206 Thomas Pieters (Bel) 67 67 72, Ryan Fox (Nzl) 69 71 66, Lucas Herbert (Aus) 69 67 70, Calum Hill 70 67 69, Justin Harding (Rsa) 70 68 68, Julien Brun (Fra) 70 67 69, Marcus Kinhult (Swe) 70 65 71, Matt Wallace 68 68 70
207 Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 69 67 71, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 73 65 69, Michael Thorbjornsen (USA) 70 64 73, Alexander Bjoerk (Swe) 69 70 68, Johannes Veerman (USA) 71 66 70, Louis de Jager (Rsa) 66 71 70
